Church Plant Grows Out of Medical Campaign

This is an article by Allen Bradford from the Peru Mission website. Praise the Lord with us for the ways His Gospel is advancing.

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We rejoice to share with you one way God is continuing to use the service of a short-term team in Peru. We have been blessed to witness God working through the inter-relating of several of Peru Mission’s ministries to bring new life to a community that is impoverished both physically and spiritually. Initial friendships with the community were made through the medical campaign by a short-term team, and then the community was adopted by our Wichanzao congregation, who assigned a seminary intern to lead pastoral and discipleship efforts there there, so that now a church plant is growing in the desert.

In February, a medical team from Independent Presbyterian Church in Memphis, TN, labored with us in tents in a little homesteading, shanty town called "Clementina" at the base of the mountain that overlooks the northern side of Trujillo. Clementina is a squatter’s community in the desert. Folks move out here, set their stakes and put up straw mats for walls. After 2 years, they will be legal owners of the land and the government will begin installing electricity, water and sewage. Living is very hard, however, while they wait.

From day one, when we first made contact with the people there, we were impressed by the friendliness and proactivity of their local neighborhood council. That impression was confirmed the day of the medical campaign, which showed us a community eager for help and open to our involvement. We had a good day setting up camp there and attending to those desperately needy people.

After the medical campaign, one of our seminary students, Percy Padilla, followed up with a number of visits to the area in the months of March and April. This resulted in the community, through the neighborhood council, donating a little plot of land to our Wichanzao Church for us to set up a chapel. Then, the Wichanzao Church petitioned Peru Mission to approve and help fund another seminary student, Jose Barriga, to take charge of this area and work toward planting a Church.

Jose began his labors in May. He visits Clementina 4 days a week—Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in the mornings and Saturdays in the afternoons. During the mornings his work has primarily been with children and a few adults, and on Saturdays he has been teaching a group of youth with a few adults as well. Also, during this month, the Wichanzao Church raised funds to build a little chapel out of thatched mats. All this labor culminated on Sunday the 25th of May with an inauguration service for the new Clementina Chapel. Brethren from the Wichanzao church, mission interns, and missionaries made the trek up to Clementina after the morning worship service at Wichanzao, with some 25 people from the Clementina neighborhood. It was a heartwarming, Christ-honoring event. We were all greatly encouraged.

On Sunday, the 8th of June, we held the first regular Sunday worship service at 4 p.m. Jose led worship and preached, connecting well with the people. From his text in Luke 12.22-31, he encouraged the people to trust God for their needs, reminding them that he is gracious and compassionate and ready to respond to their prayers. Also, a brother from the Wichanzao Church, Abel, who is a first-year medical student, played the guitar.

In attendance were about 15 women, a number of children and two men, though some other men at different times hovered around the door. As electricity is extended through the neighborhood, we will begin to meet at a later, more convenient, hour.

Also in attendance was a group of 12 brethren from Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Austin, TX. We used this worship service to help kick off a four day VBS which this team led—Monday and Tuesday in the afternoons and Wednesday and Thursday in the mornings. By splitting the schedule this way, we were able to minister to all the children, since some have school in the mornings and others in the afternoons.

Please pray for the dear people in Clementina, as well as for the weekly ministry of Jose Barriga from SBR Seminary, the health personnel from Wichanzao Presbyterian Clinic and the brethren from Wichanzao Presbyterian Church that regularly visit.